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#£%^~^.... SEVERAL CENTURIES AFTER IT HAD LAST ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... BELONGED TO US, WE WENT ON AN OUTING TO .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... THE GLASS FACTORY THAT BORE OUR FAMILY ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... NAME. IT HAD CHANGED OWNERS MANY TIMES ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. SINCE OUR ANCESTORS DEATH, AND THEN ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. STOOD ABANDONED FOR A LONG WHILE. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. FINALLY, THE NATURAL END STATION FOR ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... THE BUILDINGS THAT SURVIVE: A MUSEUM, ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... AND A GIFT SHOP. ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... THERE'S A LONG TIME SINCE MY FAMILY ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... MADE ANYTHING. BY MANY, WE WOULD BE ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. CONSIDERED POOR. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. THERE ARE TWO MAIN FACTORY BUILDINGS, ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... DOMED THINGS OF SEVERAL FLOORS, MADE IN ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... YELLOW BRICK. LARGE BUT NARROW WINDOWS, ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... REMINESCENT OF SOME CATHEDRAL. .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... CUSTOM-MADE GLASS, OF COURSE, LARGE AND ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... LEADED, AND ASHEN. A BIT TOO DARK TO BE ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. PRACTICAL. ON THE EASTERN BUILDING, ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. SOME ARE SHATTERED. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... THE OTHER ONE IS PUBLICLY OPEN. THERE'S ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... A MUSEUM, WITH WAX FIGURES OF MY GREAT ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, OR SOMETHING. .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... VARIOUS TOOLS (OR REPLICAS) LAID OUT ON ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... TABLES, WITH EXPLAINING TEXTS. A LOT OF ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. GLASS OF VARYING THICKNESS. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. %% ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... %% %% ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... ~~~~~~~ % % ~~~~~~~ ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... %% %% .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... %% ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. I QUICKLY SNEAK OUT, AND CLIMB INTO THE ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. OTHER BUILDING. THE CONTRAST IS .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. OVERWHELMING. IT MUST HAVE STOOD ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... DERELICT FOR A LONG TIME, WINDOWS ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... BROKEN, METALLIC TRASH AND POOLS OF ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... DARK GLASS ALL OVER THE FLOOR. NO .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... ELECTRIC LIGHTS, BUT I CAN SEE BY THE ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... LIGHT THAT SHINES IN WHEREVER THE DARK ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. WINDOWS ARE MISSING A PANE. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. HOWEVER, THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE IS THE ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... HIGHER FLOORS: THIS BUILDING HAS NONE. ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... IT IS ONE MASSIVE HALL, STRETCHING AWAY ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... INFINITELY ABOVE ME. SOMEWHERE UP THERE .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... IS SOME GREAT IRON LATTICEWORK, FROM ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... WHERE CHAINS ARE SUSPENDED, AND PARTS ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. OF MACHINERY HAS BEEN FALLING DOWN. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. THERE IS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... HALL, A THIN SPIRAL STAIRCASE THAT ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... LEADS UP THERE. I SNEAK OVER THERE, AND ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... TAKE A FEW RELUCTANT STEPS. AFTER JUST .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... A REVOLUTION, I NOTICE THAT FOR EACH ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... STEP THE BUILDING STARTS TO GLOW, THE ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. BRICKS TURNING A DARK RED, AND THEN ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. ORANGE, ALL THE PILED UP DEBREE BEING .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. LIT FROM BEHIND. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... I STOP READY TO RUN DOWN AND OUT, BUT ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE ON THE STAIRCASE .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... WITH ME NOW, PRESSED CLOSE. HE'S ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... LOOKING LIKE ME, SHORT HAIR AND THIN ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. ARMS, BUT WITH EARS FROM SOME ANIMAL, ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. AND MORE DISTURBINGLY, COMPLETELY MADE .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. OF DARK LIQUID GLASS. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... %% ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... %% %% .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... ~~~~~~~ % % ~~~~~~~ ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... %% %% ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. %% ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. MY FEAR HOLDS ME IN PLACE WHILE HE ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... STARTS OPERATING LEVERS AND DIALS SET ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... IN THE CENTER OF THE STAIRCASE. SLOWLY, ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... IT STARTS SPINNING, CIRCLING UPWARDS. .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... IT'S AN ELEVATOR! I START TO RUN ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... DOWNWARDS, BUT NOW THE LIQUID BOY ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. CREATURE GRABS HOLD OF ME. I TRY TO ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. SHAKE HIM OFF, BUT HE'S TOO STRONG, AND .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. PULLS ME BACK UP BESIDE HIM. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... THIS TIME, I TURN ANGRY INSTEAD. WHAT ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... THE HELL? WHO IS THIS GUY, ACTING LIKE .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... THIS? I REACH OUT MY FREE ARM AND SLAM ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... A RANDOM LEVER. SOME METAL BAR IS ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. SUDDENLY RELEASED BETWEEN US, HITTING ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. HIM ON THE ARM, FORCING MY RELEASE. I .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. SHOVE HIM OFF OF ME, AND HE FALLS INTO ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... THE LEVERS, MESSING THEM UP. ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... IMMEDIATELY, A THIN RUSTY CHAINMAIL ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... CURTAIN IS DROPPED AROUND ME. BUT THE .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... ELEVATOR ALSO SPEEDS UP SIGNIFICANTLY. ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. THE WALLS ARE FLARING NOW, YELLOW, ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. WHITE, ALMOST BLUE. I CLOSE MY EYES AND .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. CURL INTO A BALL. BUT THEN, THE GLASS ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... BOY SCREAMS, A PIERCING SOUND THAT ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... FORCES MY EYES BACK OPEN. I WATCH AS HE ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... BECOMES TOO LIQUID, HIS BODY POOLING .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... DOWN IN HIS NOW MASSIVE TAIL, AND THE ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... TIP OF IT SUDDENLY BREAKS OF IN A GLASS ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. DROP THAT FALLS TOWARD THE FACTORY ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. FLOOR. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... HE'S CRAWLING ON THE STAIRS, UNABLE TO ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... KEEP HIS BODY UPRIGHT. CAN'T REACH THE ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... LEVERS, CLAWS AT MY CHAINMAIL CAGE, .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... WHILE HIS BODY IS TURNING INTO DARK ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... PEARLS. FINALLY, HE'S LOST TOO MUCH OF ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. HIMSELF AND THE SCREAM IS CUT SHORT. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. THE LAST OF HIM RAINS DOWN. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... I STILL CAN'T REACH THE LEVERS FROM ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... WITHIN MY CAGE. LOOKING UP, I TRY TO ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... MAKE OUT THE CEILING, BUT IT'S ALL A .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... WHIRLING SEA OF COLOURS. BELOW ME GLOWS ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... THE HELLFIRE OF THE FACTORY WALLS, BUT ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. VERY FAINT. I SIT DOWN, CURL BACK UP, ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. BECOME STILL. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... %% ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... %% %% ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... ~~~~~~~ % % ~~~~~~~ .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... %% %% ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... %% ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. A LARGE CLUNK SHAKES MY ENTIRE BODY, .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. AND SNAPS ME BACK INTO REALITY. I'M ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... BACK AT THE FACTORY FLOOR, BUT THE ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... STAIRS ARE STILL MOVING SLIGHTLY, ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... CLICKING IN PLACE, CARRYING ME THE LAST .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... FEW CENTIMETERS. I CAME FROM BELOW, ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... SOMEHOW. THE CHAINMAIL IS RETRACTED, ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. AND I SLOWLY DISMOUNT THE STAIRS. ..^~^%£###
####£%^~^. .^~^%£####
###£%^~^.. SHAKING AND CRYING, I MAKE MY WAY OVER ..^~^%£###
##£%^~^... THE FACTORY FLOOR, WADING THROUGH DARK ...^~^%£##
#£%^~^.... GLASS MARBLES. A QUICK GLANCE DOWN, AND ....^~^%£#
£%^~^..... I SEE THERE'S SOMETHING FAINT INSIDE .....^~^%£
#£%^~^.... THEM. EMBRYOS? ARE THESE EGGS? ....^~^%£#
##£%^~^... ...^~^%£##
###£%^~^.. I SHUDDER, AND CLIMB BACK OUT. ..^~^%£###
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